The top verses credobaptists use to justify the belief in immersion baptism it would be Romans 6:4 or Col. 2:12, Acts 8:38-39 and the “much water” passage from John 3.
I will be commenting on Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been BURIED with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was RAISED from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Critical to how Credobaptists justify “immersion only baptism” is specifically the word “buried.” It is used only twice in the NT and only by Paul. Normally immersionists will use the word “picture” to describe “burial” as going under the water.” And from the analogy of the “picture” of burial, come to the conclusion of the mode of immersion baptism only.
Listed below are some comments I have gathered from immersionists themselves about Romans 6.
· Romans 6 is the truest embodiment of this biblical imagery of immersio
· Immersion best symbolizes a burial and resurrection.
· Baptism is a burial, which is what is done when one is immersed.
· Sprinkling is not a burial; it is only sprinkling.
· Neither is pouring a burial.
· The last body I buried was covered over totally.
· If we want to bury a dead body, we will not sprinkle a little dirt on the head. We will cover the body completely with dirt. Baptism is like that. It is a burial in water. Sprinkling water on the head of a person does not baptize him. He must be completely buried under the water.
· Can you imagine the local undertaker standing a dead corpse against a tree, shoveling a small amount of dirt on its head, and declaring the body "buried"?
From my perspective the Baptist belief that Romans 6 is a “picture” of immersion baptism FALLS FLAT USING A GEOMETRIC OR GRAPH ILLUSTRATION.
Using X & Y axis where the X axis is either the ground level or water level, we find out that Jesus was buried in a tomb, and therefore He was buried on a positive Y axis rather than a negative Y axis. The women in the morning didn’t go to the tomb of Jesus with shovels, picks, and a wheel barrow to dig up Jesus.
How a Baptist can actually believe that Jesus was buried in and/or under the ground (negative Y axis) is besides me. Jesus was NOT buried in the ground. Jesus was buried in a tomb. THIS IS NOT A “PICTURE” OF IMMERSION BAPTISM. THIS IS NOT A “PICTURE” OF GOING UNDER THE WATER.
We have to make a distinction between modern western and ancient eastern burial practices. “ To bury” to refer to any process in which we place human remains in their final resting place. In the ancient middle east, it was common for prominent people to be buried in a tomb. Abraham was buried in a cave from the land he bought from Ephrom the Hittite. King David was buried in a tomb in Jerusalem (Act 2:29). The raising of Lazarus was from a tomb. Jesus was buried a tomb. The Egyptian pharaohs were buried in their pyramids….all these on a positive Y axis.
We Americans interchange the words “buried” and “tomb” frequently. Remember Gaucho Marx famous question: Who was buried in Grant’s Tomb? Grant and his wife! President Grant’s tomb is located in New York and it is on a positive Y axis.
There is no mode or “picture” referred to in Romans 6 concerning baptism. However, if a mode were present it would be sprinkling or pouring because sprinkling and pouring are done on a positive Y axis (a tomb where Jesus was buried), while immersion is done on a negative Y axis (the ground where Jesus wasn’t buried). The very text to which immersionists appeal to for their belief in their mode of baptism, actually works against them contextually.
Immersion only baptism is an argument by conjecture, conclusive only to those who already presuppose “baptism always means immersion in the Bible,” It is a belief in search of a text.
I will be commenting on Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been BURIED with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was RAISED from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Critical to how Credobaptists justify “immersion only baptism” is specifically the word “buried.” It is used only twice in the NT and only by Paul. Normally immersionists will use the word “picture” to describe “burial” as going under the water.” And from the analogy of the “picture” of burial, come to the conclusion of the mode of immersion baptism only.
Listed below are some comments I have gathered from immersionists themselves about Romans 6.
· Romans 6 is the truest embodiment of this biblical imagery of immersio
· Immersion best symbolizes a burial and resurrection.
· Baptism is a burial, which is what is done when one is immersed.
· Sprinkling is not a burial; it is only sprinkling.
· Neither is pouring a burial.
· The last body I buried was covered over totally.
· If we want to bury a dead body, we will not sprinkle a little dirt on the head. We will cover the body completely with dirt. Baptism is like that. It is a burial in water. Sprinkling water on the head of a person does not baptize him. He must be completely buried under the water.
· Can you imagine the local undertaker standing a dead corpse against a tree, shoveling a small amount of dirt on its head, and declaring the body "buried"?
From my perspective the Baptist belief that Romans 6 is a “picture” of immersion baptism FALLS FLAT USING A GEOMETRIC OR GRAPH ILLUSTRATION.
Using X & Y axis where the X axis is either the ground level or water level, we find out that Jesus was buried in a tomb, and therefore He was buried on a positive Y axis rather than a negative Y axis. The women in the morning didn’t go to the tomb of Jesus with shovels, picks, and a wheel barrow to dig up Jesus.
How a Baptist can actually believe that Jesus was buried in and/or under the ground (negative Y axis) is besides me. Jesus was NOT buried in the ground. Jesus was buried in a tomb. THIS IS NOT A “PICTURE” OF IMMERSION BAPTISM. THIS IS NOT A “PICTURE” OF GOING UNDER THE WATER.
We have to make a distinction between modern western and ancient eastern burial practices. “ To bury” to refer to any process in which we place human remains in their final resting place. In the ancient middle east, it was common for prominent people to be buried in a tomb. Abraham was buried in a cave from the land he bought from Ephrom the Hittite. King David was buried in a tomb in Jerusalem (Act 2:29). The raising of Lazarus was from a tomb. Jesus was buried a tomb. The Egyptian pharaohs were buried in their pyramids….all these on a positive Y axis.
We Americans interchange the words “buried” and “tomb” frequently. Remember Gaucho Marx famous question: Who was buried in Grant’s Tomb? Grant and his wife! President Grant’s tomb is located in New York and it is on a positive Y axis.
There is no mode or “picture” referred to in Romans 6 concerning baptism. However, if a mode were present it would be sprinkling or pouring because sprinkling and pouring are done on a positive Y axis (a tomb where Jesus was buried), while immersion is done on a negative Y axis (the ground where Jesus wasn’t buried). The very text to which immersionists appeal to for their belief in their mode of baptism, actually works against them contextually.
Immersion only baptism is an argument by conjecture, conclusive only to those who already presuppose “baptism always means immersion in the Bible,” It is a belief in search of a text.